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Deep Blue Interactive Aquarium

“Deep Blue” is an interactive video canvas in which advanced interactive graphics create a highly engaging visual artwork. Offering a vibrant and detailed view into a virtual aquarium, the interactive aquarium plays on the joyful fantasy of visiting an aquarium where all the marine life – from the smallest clownfish to the largest whale sharks – all respond playfully with the viewer.

A number of highly detailed immersive scenes allow the fascinating exploration of unforgettable scenarios. In the “Coral Reef”, giant sea turtles swim through an azure water accompanied by schools of tropical fish that appear from the corals to playfully follow the viewers. “Deep Blue” simulates marine life at a greater depth, where a number of different shark species circle continuously while the viewer’s generate bubbles within the otherwise pristine ocean.

There are also two night scenes, “Tuna” in which large school of tuna glide perpetually through the tank, revealed interactively by a virtual light source projected by the participant. And in “Jelly Fish”, an even more surreal and tranquil scene of various jelly fish mingle playfully with the animated phosphorescent particles that flow freely along with the movement of the viewers.

All of the scenes have a highly detailed realism to them, and yet on closer inspection one discovers a playful tweaking of nature happening. Whilst in real life the fish tend to flee humans, in the Interactive Aquarium they are actively attracted – and appear to make little performances to the amusement and astonishment of an otherwise unsuspecting viewer.

Cinimod Studio has historically favoured physical 3d artwork and lighting installations, so creating an immersive interactive environment to be experienced only through the 2d surface of a super high resolution video screen was an exciting challenge. Film director Stanley Kubrick famously said “The screen is a magic medium. It has such power that it can retain interest as it conveys emotions and moods that no other art form can hope to tackle.” With the aquarium Cinimod sought to exploit the magic by creating a uniquely engaging interactive artwork in which the viewer becomes an active participant in the marine fairytale environment where fish playfully and unexpectedly respond and follow the viewer.